Iran 'seizes 10 oil smuggling tankers'

A Hormozgan Province security official, Ahmad Moradi, said on Monday that out of the ten tankers seized in the Persian Gulf over the past year, eight have been registered as foreign vessels with foreign crew on board.

According to the Iranian official, an Emirati-registered tanker laden with 300 tons of crude oil was intercepted by Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf last week.

Moradi added that fuel smuggling has increased by 232 percent compared to last year's figures, which amounts to 4,600 tons.

Iran is OPEC's second-largest exporter after Saudi Arabia, and is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil in the world after Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Norway.